Castle & Pryor Make Way For New Planes At Heathrow

By Mark Castle | July 14, 2017

Castle & Pryor have been busy working on a project at London Heathrow. Called in by Careys Airport Division, we’ve been helping them get the stands ready for the new fleet of aircraft that will be gracing them very soon.

What did we do?

We were given the challenge of removing the existing concrete foundation for the rotunda airbridge at Terminal 3’s stand 318. It measured a whopping 3 meter diameter x 200mm depth, so removing it in a working airport environment was clearly quite the project.

Why was it tricky?

First off, stand 318 is situated right in the middle of the third busiest airport in the world. It was vital that our work didn’t disrupt the airport as it carried on around us. Keeping dust, noise and vibrations to an absolute minimum was a must.
Secondly, while our job was to remove this foundation, our client was going to be installing a new, shiny, fit-for-purpose one in the exact same spot. Because of this we needed to make our cut flush to the floor, leaving no lip to ensure the safest anchorage for future work on the site. No pressure!
And even once cut, the hard work wasn’t over. Conventional breaking out was not an option given our location, so they had to lift and remove the big concrete biscuit we’d created to get it safely out of the way.

How did we do it?

As regulars working airside, we knew just what this project needed. We chose the quietest and most efficient method we could to tackle this 9.42m2 round of reinforced concrete - diamond wire sawing. To ensure that close finish this project required, we engineered new guide pulleys to enable the diamond beaded wire to remain flush to the surface throughout the cutting process. And, of course, we delivered these fantastic results on time, on budget and to a very happy customer.